Staple puller and insulator remover



Dec. 11, 1951' R. A. E. PALMER 2,577,911

STAPLE FULLER AND INSULATOR REMOVER Filed April 14, 1949 m I INVENTOR.

7 I E/CHAEOAEBALMEE,

/2 I 2392 A ATTae/vEYs Patented Dec. 11, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STAPLE PULLER AND INSULATOR REMOVER Richard A. E. Palmer, Alburg, Vt.

Application April 14, 1949, Serial No. 87,465

3 Claims. (01. 254-22) This invention relates to wire fence tools in the form of tongs or pliers adapted particularly for pulling staples and nails, and removing insulators from the fence posts of electrified fences.

One of the most commonly used forms of fencing, particularly in rural areas, consists of wood fence posts to which strands of barbed or plain wire are secured by staples. In cattle raising districts such fences are frequently electrified, the charged wires being supported by insulators secured to the posts by nails. At times it is necessary to move such fences or to repair them, and it is a troublesome and time consuming operation to remove the staples and nails from the posts without breaking the wires and insulators.

lhe principal object of theinvention is to provide a simple and highly effective tool by which such work may be done quickly and easily without damage to the wires or insulators, and which may also be used in erecting such fences and in repairing them.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the followingdescription of the present preferred embodiments of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the tool showing the jaws in their closed positions, with portions of the handles broken away.

Fig. 2 is a reduced detail edge view of the tool showing one application of it to a portion of a fence post having a wire stapled to it.

Fig. 3 is a detail section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows and showing one stage in the operation of pullinga staple.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing another pcsition of the staple pulling claws when the staple is partially extracted.

Fig. 5 is a detail edge View of the tool showing its position with respect to a post when the staple has been completely removed from the post.

Fig. 6 is a detail section taken substantiallyon the plane of the line 6-6 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows, and showing the rear sides of the claw portions of the jaws.

Fig. 7 is a detail edge view-of the tool showing diagrammatically the manner of using the tool when an insulator is to be removed from a post.

Fig. 8 is a View on a much reduced scale showing the invention embodied in a pair of pliers adapted for pulling staples.

The tool illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a pair of crossed levers l0 and II connected nearer to one of their ends by a pivot l2 to provide on one side of the pivot handles [3 and I4 and on the other side a pair of jaw members I5 and 16. The handles may be relatively long when the tool is in the form of a pair of tongs and may be of any cross-sectional shape. At their points of pivotal connection and on each side thereof, the levers are widened and made flat as shown in Fig. 1, the opposed faces of the crossed portions being held in contact by the pivot l2 which may be in the form of a bolt or a rivet. The'relatively short jaws l5 and It are substantially U-shaped in side elevation, and are opposed to each other, their free or outer ends carrying similar and coacting combined claw and fulcrum members generally indicated by the numerals I! and I8. If desired the flat portions of the levers in front of the pivot may be formed with the usual coacting wire cutting notches l9, and at the rear of the pivot with opposed toothed or serrated edges 20 to be used in gripping a wire to pull or stretch it, or for wire splicing. A hammer head 2| may be formed on the outer curved portion of the jaw Hi to be used in driving staples or nails or for similar operations.

In the drawing P denotes a portion of a wood fence post, W a fence wire, S a staple, I an insulator. and N a nail fastening the insulator to the post. When the tool is to be used for either pulling a staple or removing an insulator from a fence post, the combined claw and fulcrum members I! and I8 will be made relatively long and will project from both sides of the longitudinal axis of the tool as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5 and 7. These members which extend transversely of the levers in the direction of the axis of the pivot l2, are integrally formed with the ends of flat and widened portions 22 of the jaw members I5 and I6, their'points of connection being such as to provide, on one side of the tool, relatively short claw portions 23 to be used for pulling staples or nails which may be used for fastening fence wires, and on the other side of the tool much longer claw portions 24 to be used in removing insulators, as will be understood on reference to Fig. 7. The two members I! and I8 are of the same construction and their opposed faces contact each other in the same plane which intersects the longitudinal axis of the" pivot l2 as seen in Fig. 1. Their inner or rear faces have flat areas 25 as seen in Fig. 6 but said faces are formed with deep undercut portions forming concave recesses 28 in the opposed faces of the members. These recesses extend over substantially the entire area. of the opposed-faces of themembers and form relatively sharp or V-shaped gripping edges 2'! which extend longitudinally of the outer portions of the members and are adapted to contact each other when the tool is in its closed position. These edges extend substantially to the rounded extremities of the members I! and it as shown in Fig. 6, and they will be effective in gripping the opposite sides of a staple, nail or the like as shown in Fig. 4. The frontor outer surfaces .of the members I! and '18 are curved in a longitudinal direction, preferably as shown, from one end to the other, and are also provided with the transverse curvature shown in Figs. 1 and 4 The longitudinal curvature of the outer face of each of the short ends 23 merges into a straight or beveled area 28 although the latter also has the transverse curvature shown in .Fig. 3. The inner or rear face of each of the ends 23 is also slightly beveled as at 28a to give said ends relativel sharp extremities to enable them to be pushed or hammered into a post close to the opposite sidesof astaple when thelaitterhas been driven rather deeply into thepost. The rear or inner faces of the long ends 24 are also slightly beveled as shown at 29 to facilitate the engagement ofsaid ends between the post and opposite .sides of the end of the insulator I as shown in Fig. '7. It will be seen that the curved from surfaces of the members 11 and I8 form fulcrums which may rock. on the post and which may be moved toward and from each other by manipulating the handles so that claw ends 23 or 24 may be positioned on opposite sides of the staple, nail, insulator or other element which is to be moved by the tool. By making the member I! and I8 relatively long andhaving their end claws project from opposite sides of the levers, a long and effective rocking fulc'rum is obtained to make the tool extremely effective for its in- :tended uses.

In Fig. 8 is shown a tool in the form of a pair of pliers having the improved staple pulling feature. The crossed levers Illa and Ho are rivotally connected at 12a to provide handles .and short -jaws. Combined claw and fulcrum members are :formed on the jaws and extend on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the tool. the staple pu ling end claws 2311 being the same as the ends '23 in the first described form. Ins ead of forming the insulator removing claws on the op ositely projecting ends of the memhers, I rovide said ends with hammer sections Z a which when the tool :is closed contact with each other t form a two-part cylindrical hammer head The latter may be struck y another hammer when it is desi ed to drive the pointed extremities of the ends 23a ,into a ost to get the ends beh nd a wire he d by a deeplv embedded sta le. To faci i ate thesame o eration when the com ed t ol sh wn in the fir t f rm is used. I may strike the head of the pivot 12 with a hammer, sum head or the entire pivot ma be harden d. and if desir d the r vet mav havean en ar ed strikin head 30 on the side of the tool op osi e the ends 2 the positeend of the. rivet be n upset as shown at 3!. V

It is be ieved he manner of using the tool wil b a arent from the' re in detai ed descri i n in connection ith the, drawings. but it might be ex lained that when a staple holdin a ire to a post is in he pulled. the memhers I and 48 are se avated snflicientlv to position the c aw en s 23 behind the wire and on op osite sides of the staple with. the curved'fuicrum surfaces :in. contact with :thegpost At 4 first the pointed extremities of the ends 23 are positioned as close to the staple as possible, and the tool is then rocked by means of the grasped handles. In thus positioning the ends 23, the pivot head 30 may be struck by a hammer so that the pointed extremities of the ends 23 will dig into the post. Fig. 3 shows substantially the position of ends 23 at the beginning of the pulling operation. When the staple has started to .move out of fire pmtfiafifl Hie wine has moved slightly away from thethe ends 23 may be moved downwardly on the wire and may also be brought closer together to the position shown in Fig. 4 so that the sharp edges 21 may grip the opposite sides of the staple. The tool is then further rocked on the fulcrum portions of the novel and advantageous provision has been made for carrying out the objects of the invention. and

while preferences have been disclosed, attention i invited to the possibility of making variations within the scope of the invention as claimed. For example, the hammer head portion 2| may be made smaller and lighter in weight and of different shape than is shown. Other changes in the shape and proportions of the parts may be made without departing from the claims.

Iclaim:

l. A tool. for removing from fence posts wire fastening staples and nail-fastened insulators, comprising a pair of crossed levers pivotally connected adjacent their outer ends by a pivot, their .inner ends forming handles, the outer ends of said levers being U-shaped and arranged in opposed relation with their outer arms extending toward. each other, and a pair of combined claw and fulcrum members fixed between their ends to said outerarms and extending crosswise thereof :and in the direction oi the longitudinal axis of said pivot, said members being relatively fiat and narrow in width and of elongated form to extend on both sides of the longitudinal axis of the tool, the projecting end portions of said members on one side of said axis being of less length than the projecting end portions on the other .side, the outer surfaces of said members being transversely curved and also longitudinally curved. to provide a. pair of relatively flat and narrow post-engaging iulcrums movable toward and from each other as said levers swing on their pivot, the opposed contacting faces of said members being flat and formed with opposed, deep, concave recesses which extend substantially from -end-'to-end of said members and form longitudinally extending V-shaped claw edges along the outer contacting portions of the members.

2. In a tool for removing from a substantially cylindricalv :fence post a staple which fastens a fence wire transversely of the post, the tool including a pair of crossed and pivotally connected levers having handles at their inner ends, said tool comprising a pair of combined claw and fulcrum members fixed between their ends to the outer ends oftthe levers in opposed relation,said members being relatively flat and narrow in Width-and also being of elongated form to extend on both sides of the longitudinal axis of the tool, the outer surfaces of said members being transversely curved and also longitudinally curved to provide a pair of relatively flat and narrow post-engaging fulcrums movable toward and from each other as the levers swing on their pivotal connection, the projecting portions of said members on at least one side of said axis being outwardly beveled to provide relatively flat, sharp-pointed ends insertable between a post and a fence wire on opposite sides of a wire-fastening staple, the opposed faces of said last mentioned projecting portions of said members being formed with deep concave recesses to receive the fence wire and to provide opposed sharp, longitudinal, claw edges along the outer portions of the fulcrums to wedge between the post and the fence wire and to grip opposite sides of the staple when the'handle ends of the levers are gripped.

3. In a tool of the character set forth having a pair of crossed and pivotally connected hand levers with jaw carrying portions at their outer ends, a pair of opposed and coasting, combined claw and fulcrum members on said jaw portions 25 and extending transversely across the same and in the direction of the axis of the swinging movement of the levers, said members being relatively narrow in width and height and of elongated form to extend on both sides of the longitudinal axis of the tool, the outer surfaces of said members being transversely curved and also longitudinally curved to provide a pair of relatively fiat and narrow post-engaging fulcrums movable toward and from each other as the levers swing on their pivotal connection, the projecting portions of said members on at least one side of said longitudinal axis being formed with tapered and pointed ends, the opposed faces of said last mentioned projecting portions of said members being formed with deep concave recesses which extend over substantially the entire area of said opposed faces and provide opposed and contacting V-shaped claw edges extending longitudinally along the fulcrum portions of said members.

RICHARD A. E. PALMER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 300,244 Gambrell June 10, 1884 650,186 Maxson May 22, 1900 724,669 Cottrell Apr. 7, 1903 1,495,028 Mitchell May 20, 1924 

